QUINCY, Mass. — The Nation’s second President now has his own circulating coin. To commemorate the first time that John Adams has been featured on a U.S. coin, Quincy, Massachusetts, the hometown of John Adams, hosted a ceremony featuring Adams descendants and a John Adams “interpreter” at the Quincy Center “T” Stop downtown.
United States Mint Director Edmund C. Moy, Quincy Mayor William J. Phelan, Adams descendant Peter Boylston Adams lauded the accomplishments of Adams as onlookers exchanged their bills and quarter–dollars for John Adams Presidential $1 Coins. John Adams re–enactor Sam Goodyear greeted school children.
This coin is the second in the United States Mint’s Presidential $1 Coin series. The first coin, honoring George Washington, went into circulation last February in time for Presidents Day.
“John Adams was a great patriot who helped draft the Declaration of Independence and served as Vice President and then President of our Nation in its early days,” said Director Moy. “This new coin provides the opportunity to learn more about our second President and his fascinating life. With the John Adams Presidential $1 Coin, like the George Washington Presidential $1 Coin before it, Americans are discovering that using a dollar coin is more convenient in many transactions.”
Millions of new John Adams Presidential $1 Coins are heading to the Nation’s banks and financial institutions. The public may also order Presidential $1 Coins in collectable bags and rolls at the United States Mint’s website, www.usmint.gov. Banks that run out of John Adams Presidential $1 Coins are encouraged to re–order them during the special ordering period that runs until June 14.
John Adams interpreter Sam Goodyear greeted commuters and interacted with local school children. The officials gave each child in the crowd two John Adams Presidential $1 Coins…one to save and one to spend.
Nearly half a billion George Washington and John Adams Presidential $1 Coins have been ordered to date by the Federal Reserve for circulation. Public awareness of the new Presidential $1 Coins has tripled from approximately 15 percent to 20 percent in November 2006, when the designs for the coins were unveiled in Washington D.C., to approximately 60 percent in March 2007.
The United States Mint is offering financial institutions and retail businesses free informational materials via www.usmint.gov/$1coin. Students, teachers, parents and educational organizations can also gain access to lesson plans and other free educational tools on the same website.
Congress authorized and the President approved the Presidential $1 Coins with the Presidential $1 Coin Act (Act) of 2005. The Act requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins honoring the United States Presidents in the order in which they served, with four new designs annually. Along with the George Washington and John Adams Presidential $1 Coins, coins featuring Thomas Jefferson and James Madison will be introduced later in 2007. For digital images of the John Adams Presidential $1 Coin, please click here.
Unique Designs Honor Historic Figure.
The design of the John Adams Presidential $1 Coin, like all of the Presidential $1 Coins, was created to be bold and dramatic. Edge–lettering draws attention to the inscriptions “E Pluribus Unum” and “In God We Trust,” as well as the date and the mint mark, distinguishing Presidential $1 Coins from all other coins in circulation today.
The new Presidential $1 Coins are identical in color and size to the Golden Dollar featuring Sacagawea, and have the same distinctive rim and tactile features to assist the visually impaired. The obverse (heads side) of each coin features an image of a former President and the years of his term of office. The reverse (tails side) displays an image of the Statue of Liberty and the inscriptions “United States of America” and “$1.”
Distributed through Banks and Other Financial Institution.
The United States Mint and the Federal Reserve are taking steps to enable businesses and the public to obtain the new John Adams Presidential $1 Coin and all of the Presidential $1 Coins, as they are released.
Like the George Washington Presidential $1 Coins, the John Adams Presidential $1 Coins will be shipped to banks and other financial institutions in rolls and small bags, unmixed with other $1 coins. Banks may order and store each Presidential $1 Coin up to two weeks before its introduction so financial institutions will have supplies on hand on the release date. The coins will be available to banks in unmixed rolls and bags for four weeks after the introduction of each design. The special ordering process begins again two weeks prior to the date on which a new Presidential $1 Coin is released.
Presidential $1 Coin Commemoratio.
Each President will be honored with a single Presidential $1 Coin, regardless of the number of consecutive terms he served, except for Grover Cleveland, the only United States President to serve non–consecutive terms. He will be honored on two coins. No living, former or current President can be honored on a coin.
For more information on the new Presidential $1 Coins, go to www.usmint.gov/$1coin. For television stations, a satellite feed of b–roll from the John Adams Presidential $1 Coins event in Quincy will be available today, Tuesday, May 22, at 1:30 p.m. (ET) at C–Band, Galaxy 25C, Transponder 13, DL 3960V and at 3:30 p.m. (ET) at C–Band, Galaxy 25C, Transponder 13, DL 3960V.